Page 41 of Mending Hearts at the Cornish Country Hospital (The Cornish Country Hospital #6)
‘See you later.’ Isla mouthed the words to her and slipped silently out of the room.
James and Rachael remained by their son’s side, as the hospital chaplain looked on; even she must have felt powerless at a moment like this.
There was nothing any of them could say that would make things any better for Callum’s parents, but they were going to have to let their son go soon.
As much as they might want to sit by his side for the rest of their lives, there were legal processes to follow.
They’d be able to see him again after the postmortem, but that first initial wrench from his side was going to be agonising.
‘Rachael, James, this is Drew, one of the pathologists.’ Eden’s voice was quiet and it felt wrong to talk at all in the stillness of the room, but they needed to hear what Drew had to say.
‘Thank you for coming to talk to us.’ James held out his hand and Drew shook it. It was amazing how social norms could come to the fore, even in the most extraordinary circumstances.
‘I’m so sorry about Callum.’ Drew’s use of his name immediately broke down the first barrier, Eden could see it in Rachael’s eyes.
He could just have said I’m so sorry for your loss , but using his name made it clear he was talking about their son as a person and not just a body on a bed.
It was a tiny gesture that made a world of difference.
Drew might not think he always read social situations right, but he had this time.
‘Thank you.’ Rachael’s voice was little more than a whisper and silent tears rolled down her cheeks, as she turned back towards her son, resting her head against his chest for a moment.
‘I can’t even imagine how difficult this is for you, and I know the last thing you want is for Callum to be put through anything else.
’ Drew’s voice was steady, but there was an unmistakable empathy there too.
‘The reason we need to do the postmortem is so that we can be certain what caused Callum’s death.
It might seem futile, when it can’t bring him back to you, but it might give you information that can safeguard you or other members of your family, if it turns out there are any hereditary factors involved.
What we discover when we examine Callum could also contribute to preventing the same thing happening to other people. ’
‘We understand why you need to do it, but what his mum… what we both need to know is what will happen to Callum while he’s with you?’
‘We’ll examine Callum thoroughly and undertake a physical and chemical analysis to identify any diseases or abnormalities that may have contributed to his death.
I’ll be with Callum for around four hours and I can promise you that my team will treat him with the utmost dignity and respect.
We all want to find the answers for you, but I know nothing we can do will make this any less painful. ’
‘Callum would have wanted his death to eventually help someone else, wouldn’t he?
’ Rachael looked at her husband, who nodded, his eyes red-rimmed and swollen.
Although James wasn’t crying right now, it was obvious the tears could start again at any moment.
Rachael turned back towards Drew. ‘Will you… Will he look like Callum again when you’re finished?
We won’t be able to see where you’ve opened him up, will we? ’
‘No, we’ll make sure of that.’
‘Will we be able to make the arrangements for the undertakers to take Callum to the chapel of rest after that, so we can keep visiting him until the funeral? That’s what I want.’ Rachael put a heavy emphasis on the last four words, in case anyone was planning to try and talk her out of it.
‘Absolutely.’ Drew nodded. ‘I want you to know how important it is to me to find the answers Callum deserves, and if you think of anything you wish you’d asked, you can come back to me at any time. Eden is going to give you my contact details.’
‘Everyone’s been so kind, but Callum would have hated the idea of causing so much fuss.
He was such a lovely, easy-going boy.’ The last word caught in Rachael’s throat and turned into a sob that echoed around the room.
James put his arm around his wife again, but there was nothing that he or any of them could say to lift burden of pain they’d both be carrying for the rest of their lives.
* * *
Drew and Eden walked away from the viewing room together.
Her shift had been over for more than an hour, but she’d warned her parents that she was going to be late.
Eden’s arms ached to hold Teddie and feel the weight of his solid little body against hers, knowing he was safe.
But before she went home to him there was something she needed to do.
‘That made such a difference to them.’ Eden caught hold of Drew’s arm, once they were out of the emergency department, and they both stopped walking. ‘I could see it in Rachael’s eyes as soon as you started to explain.’
‘You made far more difference than I ever could. The way you hugged her when we were leaving. I could never do that, but I could tell it made her feel as if someone really cared about her and I also know it wasn’t an act on your part.
You really do care, and in terrible situations like this that’s all someone wants to know. ’
‘Who’d have thought we had so much in common.’ She managed a half smile, but she wished she could have folded herself into his arms.
‘I always thought we had a lot in common, once you get below the surface. You just have to get past the fact that you’re vivacious and I’m… well, me.’
‘I’m really glad you’re exactly the person you are.’ Eden leant forward and kissed him on the lips, so momentarily that even a passerby might have to question if they’d really seen it.
‘Good.’ It was a typically brief reply, but a smile was tugging at the corners of Drew’s mouth that said far more than his words.
They’d been edging around the way they clearly both felt, taking one step forwards and often two steps back, but Eden wasn’t sure what they were waiting for any more.
Days like this were a stark reminder that tomorrow wasn’t promised to anyone, and she didn’t want to edge around her feelings for Drew even for one more day.
She wanted to lay everything out, the way he probably needed her to, in order to be sure he hadn’t misunderstood.
‘When can I see you again?’ She watched his face as he processed her question, furrowing his brow.
‘At work?’
‘No. I told you before how much I like you, Drew, but I don’t just mean as friends.
I really enjoy spending time with you, when we’re with Teddie and when we’re on our own too.
I don’t want to see you just to talk about Teddie’s diagnosis, or your experience of autism.
I want to spend time with you because I like your company more than I like the company of anyone else, except for Teddie.
I like how you look, and how it feels to kiss you and hold your hand.
I think you might feel the same, but neither of us seems to be very good at moving things forward, probably because we’re both carrying a lot of baggage from our pasts, but I don’t want that to stop us seeing if we might be able to have a future and whether this could become something more than it is already. ’
‘I didn’t think you were going to say all of that.
’ Drew held her gaze, something she knew he found hard to do, but she still couldn’t gauge his reaction and then he smiled, his whole face changing.
‘You’re right, I do feel the same. I wish I was as articulate as you and that I’d found the words to tell you all of that first, but I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as one of us said it. ’
‘It doesn’t matter at all.’ She smiled too. ‘But seeing as you made me say it first, I think the least you can do is to arrange our first official date.’
‘I’ll have to come up with something Teddie will enjoy.’
‘It doesn’t have to be with Teddie.’
‘I know, but I want it to be, as long as you do too? You come as a pair and for me there’s no downside to that. I hoped I might find someone one day, even if I never expected to. But I didn’t think that someone would come with an incredible bonus, and that’s exactly what Teddie is.’
It wouldn’t matter if Drew had promised to take her for dinner in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, or invited her to watch the sunset with him on a deserted beach, nothing could have been more perfect than what he’d just said.
‘You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that.’ She wanted to kiss him again, but now wasn’t the time or the place. It seemed to be the story of their lives lately, but she really hoped that was about to change. ‘I’ll wait for you to tell me when and where we’re meeting then.’
‘I’ll call you later.’ Drew entwined his fingers with hers for a moment, before releasing them.
It was funny the way he always left her wanting more, and how he had absolutely no idea what that did to her.
There was no side to Drew, no game plan or hidden agenda.
It made him about as different from Jesse as it was possible to be, and the only thing that worried her was just how strongly she was starting to feel about him, and what it might mean for her and Teddie if things didn’t work out.
She wasn’t going to let that stop her though, just like she wasn’t going to let what had happened with Jesse stop her either.
Drew was worth taking a chance on, and so was she.
They both deserved to be happy and she had a very strong feeling that this was their chance.